Two teams, one question.
One team checks customers. Another checks suppliers. They use different tools and different questionnaires, and often pay separately for the same registers. Both are asking the same thing: who is this party, what do they touch, and what are we willing to accept?
One process for every relationship.
A single cycle covers both, each against the requirements that apply to them.
Onboard. Bring the party in and classify it, with a proposed tier and a named owner.
Assess. Ask the right questions and check the answers against registers and sanctions lists.
Decide. A named person decides, with conditions and a next review date.
Follow up. Prepare meetings from the record and track actions until they are done.
Watch. A change in board, owner, certificate or incident reopens the review.
What changes when it is one record.
You stop keeping two versions of the truth. A company that is both customer and supplier is one party. What you promise your customers and what you require from your suppliers can be compared, because they sit in the same place.
It also works the other way round. When customers or banks assess you, answers are drafted from your own facts with sources, approved by their owners and reused next time.